Yan'an Nursery

Yan’an Nursery
《延安保育院》

Venue: Yan’an Nursery Theater, Jinyan’an Culture and Tourism Industrial Park, Yan’an, Shaanxi province

Ticket price: 198/228/288/388 yuan per person ($27.87-54.62)

Daily show times:
12 am-1:10 pm
7 pm-8:10 pm

Duration: 70 minutes

Notes:
Free admission for children under 1.2 meters in height

Grand in scope and deeply human in its emotional resonance, the immersive show Yan’an Nursery draws on extensive archival material to tell a true and moving story of the years of China’s revolutionary war from the 1930s to the 1940s.

Structured in four acts — Return, Growth, Evacuation and Crossing East — the production follows a group of orphaned children who are rescued after a Red Army unit suffers a sudden enemy attack. Sent to the Yan’an Nursery, the children are raised and educated under the care of devoted soldiers and “nursery mothers”, whose compassion became a quiet but powerful force during the turbulence of war. Their story highlights the extraordinary humanity that endures amid conflict, embodying the spirit of selfless love that defined the era.

Blending history, cultural identity, artistic innovation and emotional depth, Yan’an Nursery incorporates a rich array of traditional performance elements — folk songs, dance, yangko folk dancing, the Ansai waist drum, Daoqing opera, and scenes of tilling the land. These localized forms bring the daily life of the revolutionary period vividly to the stage, immersing the audience in an atmosphere that feels both authentic and alive.

The production further enhances this experience with cutting-edge stagecraft that creates a truly immersive theatrical environment. Advanced scenography, lighting and sound systems, combined with a fully automated stage capable of 90-degree vertical lifts and more than 600 vibrating seats, bring the towering Pagoda Hill, the rushing Yanhe River, fierce battle scenes, and star-filled skies vibrantly to life. The experience is completed by audio and high-tech 3D imaging.